Category: Singapuraku

3 Things SAF Can Do With The Returned Terrexes
Finally, the PRC government is returning our Terrexes to us. They had so much time with the Terrexes that they probably copied every inch of it and are already manufacturing battalion-sized Terrexes somewhere in China now.

So what do we do with the Terrexes? Here are our suggestions:
1. Deploy the Terrexes to ferry people in times of another inevitable MRT disruption. More specifically, they could ferry the very old and very young to their next destinations. Have you seen the crunch that people get themselves into when trying to get on the bridging bus services? With the Terrexes, no one will dare get in their way.
2. Set them up to provide joy-rides at the Istana, at every public holiday open house. The Istana is sprawling. The children will love the adventure.
3. Display them in the Army Museum. The best way to learn and progress is to learn from mistakes made in history.
Any better ideas?

Rilek1Corner
January 25, 2017
Former Certis Cisco Convicted For Playing Russian Roulette With Service Revolver

A former auxiliary police officer from Certis Cisco who fired his revolver in a game akin to Russian roulette was convicted on Tuesday (Jan 24) of committing a rash act endangering human life.

Gregory Lai Kar Jun, 23, was on duty at Tuas Checkpoint on Aug 13, 2015, when he emptied the revolver of five bullets and placed them on a table. He loaded the weapon with one bullet, pointed the revolver towards the ground and squeezed the trigger.

When nothing happened, he squeezed the trigger again. This time, the weapon fired. Lai had fired the weapon in a confined space – a small room measuring about 2.7m by 1.7m with his colleague standing about 1m away.

Lai and his colleague Muhammad Dzul Adhar, then corporals with security firm Certis Cisco, found the spent round and hid it inside a traffic wand. To cover up his tracks, Lai went to a restroom at the checkpoint and threw a second bullet into a toilet bowl.

The next day, he reported the loss of two bullets to the Tuas Checkpoint operations room.

In the meantime, Dzul agreed to help Lai dispose of the spent round. He transferred the bullet from the traffic wand to a cigarette box, before throwing the round into Bedok Reservoir in the early hours of Aug 14, 2015.

Dzul was last year jailed for three weeks and fined S$2,000 for intentionally obstructing the course of justice and for failing to give information to the police about Lai’s crime.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

January 24, 2017
Ong Ye Kung: Multi-Party Democracy Is Not The Way Forward For Singapore

Speaking at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) conference, Education Minister Ong Ye Kung warned that democracy would ruin Singapore, and claimed that his ruling party is Singapore’s success formula and that having opposition parties impedes decision-making.

“The Republic’s formula for success could well be a one-party system. A multi-party system could slow down decision-making and nimbleness while navigating an ever-changing world and environment. Imagine, if we have a multi-party system back in 1965, will we have come so far so quickly?”

According to Minister Ong Ye Kung, a democracy with multiple political parties will create racism and politics will become a “toxic mix” and “nasty”:

“Should the political landscape here evolve into one with more than one dominant political party, it could mean a lot more jostling on the ground as unions and various associations and even the media become split as parties seek support. Should political parties align themselves along sinister lines, such as by race, language or religion, this toxic mix could leave the country broken. Even as political parties represent diverse views, that very same essence can take a nasty twist, sowing discord and dividing societies.”

The Minister who shares half the education ministry profile also said that Singaporeans are the ones who chose PAP as the single ruling party and that they reject having a multi-party government:

“But a single-party system in the case of Singapore is not a prescription but an outcome of choice resulting from elections. If the people of a country wish for a multi-party system, it will be so.”

Minister Ong Ye Kung also dismissed the role of Opposition parties as critics, and that they do not have the nation’s interests at heart:

“The job of the opposition parties is to point out the risks of a single-party rule. That is their job. But the job of the PAP (People’s Action Party) is to make sure that Singapore continues to flourish. We will also point out the risks of a multi-party system and, most importantly, we must always keep out the ills of complacency, elitism and corruption.”

Source: http://statestimesreview.com

January 24, 2017
Muslims Must Find Allies Among Non-Muslims In Fight Against Islamophobia

Possible lessons from the Linda Sarsour episode:

(For those who are unaware, she is a Palestinian-American and a social activist who participated in the women’s march held a few days ago. She gave a rousing, inspiring speech. Unfortunately, but predictably, she was slammed by many people; those on the far-right, but also, some Muslims.)

1) Some men just cannot stand strong women, who have loud voices and are not afraid to articulate their opinions. This is regrettably still true, and it is really futile to pretend that it is not.

2) As long as Muslims do not conform to certain expectations held by others, there will be efforts to ‘reform’ Islam and ‘modernize’ it. Can’t help but feel there would be fewer criticisms if she had not donned the hijab, or if she was a self-styled Muslim ‘reformer’.

3) We should always challenge terminologies that are put forth by others. When others use the term ‘moderate’, or ‘progressive’, or ‘conservative’, do not let that slide, or worse, embrace them uncritically. This is not a matter of being an ‘academic exercise’; rather, it could have real-life implications.

In this case, the term ‘anti-Semite’ was bandied about casually. Is she anti-Semitic because she is Palestinian? Aren’t Arabs Semites in the first place???

Do not let others define the terms of discourse for us.

4) Muslims should be aware that many of those who are defending Linda are those from other/no faiths. Yes, in the Western world, there are plenty of Islamophobes who wish to see Islam disappear from the face of the earth, and/or want Islam to be changed wholesale.

At the same time, there are many who are allies and potential allies, who have stood up and will continue to stand up for us. It is crucial to recognize this.

Muslims hate it when people paint us with the same brush. We, of all people, should know not to do that with ‘people in the West’, ‘Jews’, ‘the right’, and the like.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

January 24, 2017
Dr Maliki Osman: Cari Jalan Sederhana Dalam Agama Supaya Dapat Saling Memahami

Perpaduan dalam masyarakat berbilang agama tidak akan dapat dicapai dengan berkesan jika masih ada isu-isu dalam sesuatu agama itu.

Antaranya pandangan yang berbeza dalam mengamalkan ajaran agama.

Menurut Menteri Negara Kanan Pertahanan dan Ehwal Luar Dr Mohd Maliki Osman, ia merupakan satu perkara yang perlu diteliti dengan serius dan ditangani jika kita mahu mengekalkan keharmonian dalam kehidupan.

“Sering kita dengar satu bangsa mengatakan sama ada kita boleh melakukan sesuatu perkara dan ada yang mengatakan boleh dan ada yang mengatakan tidak boleh. Bangsa yang lain mungkin tidak faham. Langsung ia akan menimbulkan masalah kepada mereka jika mereka ingin mengaitkan dengan sesuatu kaum tersebut. Jadi saya rasa apa yang penting ialah dalam sesuatu agama itu kita cuba cari jalan sederhana supaya ramai di antara mereka yang bukan dalam agama tersebut memahami apa yang dipraktikkan dan difahami oleh agama tersebut. Ini mungkin akan dapat meningkatkan lagi hubungan antara kaum ataupun antara agama di Singapura ini,” kata Dr Maliki.

Dr Maliki yang juga Datuk Bandar CDC Tenggara berkata demikian di sesi dialog antara kaum anjuran CDC itu petang tadi (21 Jan).

Ini merupakan sesi kedua daripada satu siri dialog bertujuan meningkatkan kesedaran dan pemahaman tentang pelbagai agama dan budaya di negara ini.

Dialog kali ini berkisar tentang peranan dan erti sesuatu warna dalam kehidupan berbilang kaum di negara ini.

Menurut Dr Maliki, sebagai rakyat Singapura, di samping tidak mengamalkan diskriminasi
kita juga perlu mengambil langkah-langkah proaktif dalam membina wadah bagi pertukaran pendapat yang berkesan tentang masyarakat majmuk Singapura.

Dialog ini disertai sekitar 170 orang dari pelbagai latar belakang termasuk pemimpin agama dan belia.

Sesi selanjutnya akan diadakan pada 4 Mac.

Source: BeritaMediacorp

January 23, 2017